Nonstop flight route between Ponce, Puerto Rico and Lubango, Angola:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico and Lubango Mukanka Airport (SDD), Lubango, Angola would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,910 miles (or 9,512 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Mercedita Airport and Lubango Mukanka Airport, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Mercedita Airport and Lubango Mukanka Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Mercedita Airport (PSE):

• The furthest airport from Mercedita Airport (PSE) is Barrow Island Airport (BWB), which is nearly antipodal to Mercedita Airport (meaning Mercedita Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Barrow Island Airport), and is located 12,201 miles (19,636 kilometers) away in Barrow Island, Western Australia, Australia.
• On August 12, 1981, an Air Florida plane with 125 Haitian refugees aboard landed at Mercedita en route to the Fort Allen facility in Juana Diaz, part of the 1981 Haitian refugees exodus.
• In addition to being known as "Mercedita Airport", other names for PSE include "Aeropuerto Mercedita" and "18.00'30"N, 66.33'47"W".
• The Puerto Rico Ports Authority recently announced an investment of 7 million dollars to extend Mercedita's runway to 8,000 feet.
• Mercedita Airport covers an area of 274 acres at an elevation of 29 feet above mean sea level.
• On July 1, 2011, a Cessna 185 that was supposed to land at Mercedita airport with a family of five on board, registration number N8438Q, crashed while on its way from Culebra.
• The closest airport to Mercedita Airport (PSE) is Antonio (Nery) Juarbe Pol Airport (ARE), which is located 31 miles (51 kilometers) NNW of PSE.
• Because of Mercedita Airport's relatively low elevation of 29 feet, planes can take off or land at Mercedita Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• In February 2009, Ponce mayor María Meléndez sought transfer of the airport from the Puerto Rico central government to the Ponce Municipal government amidst discontent with the bureaucracy at the central government that could be avoided if the airport was locally managed.
• In 1949, however, it was determined that the runway of the Ponce Airport at the nearby Losey Field no longer met the newer and more stringent minimum airport safety requirements, and airport operations were suspended.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 110,159 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 90,267 enplanements in 2009, and 97,660 in 2010.
• Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Lubango Mukanka Airport (SDD):

• The closest airport to Lubango Mukanka Airport (SDD) is Vila Roçadas/Xangongo Airport (XGN), which is located 156 miles (252 kilometers) SE of SDD.
• The furthest airport from Lubango Mukanka Airport (SDD) is Johnston Atoll Airport (JON), which is nearly antipodal to Lubango Mukanka Airport (meaning Lubango Mukanka Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Johnston Atoll Airport), and is located 12,195 miles (19,627 kilometers) away in Johnston Atoll, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands.
• Lubango Mukanka Airport (SDD) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Lubango Mukanka Airport", other names for SDD include "Aeroporto Lubango Mukanka (Lubango (Sá da Bandeira))" and "Aeroporto de Lubango".
• Because of Lubango Mukanka Airport's high elevation of 5,778 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at SDD. Combined with a high temperature, this could make SDD a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.